FAQs_Service Adjustments during Confed Line

REPORT
Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
TRANSIT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
REPORT FAQs
REPORT
TITLE
DIVISION:
BRANCH
REPORT
AUTHOR
Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - Transitway Closure Hurdman to
Blair
Customer Systems and Planning
Service Planning
Pat Scrimgeour, Assistant General Manager, Customer Date:
Systems and Planning
April 8, 2015
GM’s REVIEW OF REPORT
March 25, 2015
SCHEDULED DATES FOR REPORT
TRANSIT COMMISSION
April 22, 2015
COUNCIL
N/A
FAQs:
Q1. What are the highlights of service adjustments planned for 2015?
A1. The below points are highlights of the transit services during Confederation Line
Construction:
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On June 28, 2015, the Transitway will be closed between Blair Station and
Hurdman Station, to allow for O-Train Confederation Line construction.
This section of the Transitway will remain closed until May 2018 when the
Confederation Line officially opens for service.
For customers who are affected, Council has invested $74 million in mitigation
measures to minimize the impacts.
We’re aiming to maintain key connection points as well as keep transit routes as
close as possible to current routes.
The level of service is set to match projected ridership demand and ensure
sufficient capacity is provided.
Transit service along this section of the Transitway will be relocated to reserved bus
lanes on Regional Road 174 / Highway 417 and other parallel corridors.
The goal of the transit service adjustments is to maintain good transit service for
customers with bus routes serving customers’ destinations and maintaining key
connection points.
There are 340,000 customer-trips made on OC Transpo on a typical weekday, and
approximately 84% of these customer-trips will not be affected by the service
adjustments.
The journey time for most customers travelling between Blair Station and Hurdman
Station will range from 1 minute faster to 7 minutes longer than today.
Many customers travelling to downtown from the east will have a longer travel time,
and some customers will have changes to the locations of their connections
between routes.
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
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Some routes will bypass Train, Hurdman, and Lees Stations and shorten the travel
time for some customers travelling to and from downtown. Some routes will also
bypass St. Laurent Station in the eastbound direction.
Cyrville Station will be closed during construction; however, transit service will
continue to be provided nearby.
Q2. How many customers will be affected and how will their travel times be affected?
A2. There are 340,000 customer-trips on the transit system on a typical weekday and
approximately 16%, or 54,000 customer-trips per day, will be impacted by these transit
service adjustments.
Approximately 84%, or 286,000 customer-trips, will not be affected by the construction.
Travel time impacts on customers:
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14% of customers will have a longer travel time of up to 7 minutes
 3% of the above-noted customers will have an additional transfer
1% will have a longer travel time of 8 minutes or more
1% will have a shorter travel time of 1 minute
Q3. Which routes will be affected?
A3. The below-listed routes will be affected during Confederation Line Construction:
East-end Express Routes
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Will operate on Regional Road 174 and Highway 417 bus lanes
Will bypass Cyrville, Train, Hurdman, and Lees Stations to provide more direct service
to / from downtown
Will serve St-Laurent Station in westbound direction only, with customer off-loading by
request only
Service levels will be the same
Under normal conditions, travel time to downtown will increase by approximately 5
minutes in the morning and 7 minutes in the afternoon
New Route 91
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New Route 91 will provide faster service than Route 95 along a similar route
Route 91 will be faster because it will bypass Cyrville, Train, Hurdman, and Lees
Stations to provide more direct service to / from downtown
Many customers who now use Route 95 will be better-served by new Route 91
Route 91 will serve St-Laurent Station in the westbound direction only
Route 91 will operate Trim / Place d’Orléans Stations to / from Baseline Station
Route 91 will operate Monday to Friday from about 06:00 to 19:00
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
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Route 91 will have additional capacity added to accommodate customers transferring
from other routes
Route 94
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Will bypass Cyrville, Train, Hurdman and Lees Stations to provide more direct service
to / from downtown
Service west of downtown to / from Barrhaven and Riverside South will not be affected
Route 95
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Route 95 will be the main route for customers traveling to Hurdman Station
Many customers who now use Route 95 will be better-served by new Route 91
Route 95 will run 24 hours, seven days a week
Service to / from Barrhaven will not be affected
Customers travelling between downtown and Baseline Station can take either new
Route 91 or Route 95
Additional capacity will be added to accommodate customers transferring from other
routes
A small number of customers who travel east specifically from Hurdman to Blair or
beyond will have the longest travel time increase, at 13 to 16 minutes – this effect
cannot be mitigated
Route 96
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Route 96 will serve the VIA Rail Canada Ottawa Station
Trips every 15 minutes, seven days a week, will operate via Train Station and
Tremblay Road to/from St-Laurent Station
Additional trips will start/end at Hurdman Station
Service west of downtown to/from Kanata and Stittsville will not be affected
West-end express routes
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Trips in the morning will end at Hurdman Station
No morning trips will continue to Blair Station
Trips in the afternoon will start at the new bus staging area at Vanier Parkway
Trips in the afternoon will start in service at Campus Station
Customers travelling to/from locations further east may transfer to / from Routes
91/94/95/96 downtown
Other Routes on / near the Transitway
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Route 6 – Transfer locations at Lees and Hurdman Stations - Revised routing at Lees
Station
Route 18 – Transfer location at St-Laurent Station - Operates via Coventry Road
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
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Route 101 – Transfer locations at Lees and Hurdman Stations - Revised routing at
Lees Station
Route 114 – Transfer locations at St-Laurent and Hurdman Stations
Route 121 – Transfer location at Hurdman and Blair Stations - Serves Cyrville Station
area
Route 124 – Transfer location at Blair and St-Laurent Stations - Operates via Ogilvie
Road and serves Cyrville Station area
Route 126 – Transfer location at Blair Station - Ends at Blair Station at all times
Route 127 – Combined into Route 124
Route 128 – Transfer location at Blair Station - Ends at Blair Station at all times
Route 129 – Transfer locations at Blair, St-Laurent, and Hurdman Stations - Ends at
Blair Station on weekends
Route 192 – Transfer locations at St-Laurent and Hurdman Stations
Route 199 – Transfer locations at Blair, St-Laurent, and Hurdman Stations
Q4. What Transitway Stations will be affected?
A4. Construction activity will require some stations to be adjusted and others closed:
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Hurdman Station will be relocated, effective in September 2015
Train Station will be closed with bus service rerouted to Tremblay Road and the VIA
Ottawa Station
St. Laurent Station lower level will be closed
Blair Station will be relocated
Cyrville Station will be temporarily closed
Q5. What amenities will be provided at temporary station facilities?
A5. The temporary stations will be built to regular OC Transpo standards, in accordance with
the Transitway Design Manual. Stations will remain fully accessible. To ensure customer
safety and security, Closed Circuit T.V. and emergency call boxes (‘e-phones’) will be
provided.
Q6. What will happen to existing retail stores at Hurdman and Blair Stations?
A6. Retail stores at Hurdman and Blair Stations will be closed during the construction period.
In 2018, there will be retail opportunities available at both locations, along with Tunney’s
Pasture and Rideau Stations.
Q7. What happens if these service adjustments cause more significant delays than
projected?
A7. The following stakeholders are meeting regularly to discuss how to mitigate delay /
incidents in order to avoid impact to transit service reliability:
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OC Transpo
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
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Public Works (Traffic Management, Traffic Operations)
Rail Implementation Office
Ottawa Police Service
Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
This group continues to discuss:
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OC Transpo operating procedures for highway operations
Collision clearing, and priorities for clearing collisions that could affect transit service
OPS / OPP jurisdiction
Potential conflicts in transit lanes (e.g. disabled vehicles)
Emergency Detour Routes for buses, and activation of these
Transit prioritization during incidents on the highway
Key ‘hotspot areas’, and possible mitigation methods
Meetings and communication will continue throughout all phases of the construction period of
the O-Train Confederation Line.
Q8. How will OC Transpo communicate these changes to customers?
A8. A comprehensive communication program will be utilized to ensure that all customers are
aware of the upcoming changes in a timely manner. Customers are encouraged to look for
“Our Transit Future is On Track” messages starting soon.
The communication campaign has three main objectives:
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Create awareness of the changes and how the individual customers are affected
Provide travel planning and schedule information
Convey why the changes are required (e.g. providing some long- term plans and
benefits of the O-Train Confederation Line).
Q9. When will these service adjustments be communicated to customers?
A9. The information campaign will begin in April 2015. The campaign will start by building
awareness of the upcoming changes, and then provide more detailed information beginning in
mid-May. Communication activities will continue after transit service adjustments are
implemented and carry through to future phases of Transitway closures and service
adjustments.
Anticipated timelines for various activities are:
Awareness Building Activities:
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Use of mainstream media platforms and social media: mid April to late June 2015
Display of posters and other print materials: mid May to late June 2015
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
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Use of Next Stop Announcement System on buses to share general route / service
change information: June 2015
Information Sharing Activities:
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Updates to travel planner and online schedules: mid May to late June 2015
Additional posters and print materials for customers: June 2015
Updated bus stops and signage: June 2015
Targeted Next Stop Announcement System Messages: mid to end of June 2015
Outreach: June 2015
 Outreach and information display at key destinations (e.g., hospital, community
centre, shopping mall)
In Station: late June 2015
 Outreach sessions at affected stations
 Social media to support outreach sessions (e.g. Find out how the upcoming
station closures affect you. Transit staff will be at Hurdman Station today and
tomorrow until 6pm.)
 School Service: May to August 2015
 Refresh information in August 2015 for customers who are rejoining the transit
system in September
Support Activities:
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Customer Service: June to early July 2015
In-station: late June to early July 2015
Ongoing support through normal channels
Q10. How were route adjustments determined? How did you determine which routes
would be terminated at Blair and which would continue to St. Laurent or Hurdman?
A10. OC Transpo has planned service adjustments in order to continue to deliver a reliable,
cost-effective, safe and convenient service. There were several main considerations involved
in determining service adjustments, including adjustments at Blair and St-Laurent Stations,
which encompass the following:
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Minimizing travel time for customers
Maintaining connectivity and minimizing connections for customers
Consistency with current routes
Ensuring major destinations are served
Transitioning to 2018 route network
Q11. Why does it take so much longer to stop at St-Laurent Station going east?
A11. Eastbound buses on the highway that serve St. Laurent Station have a longer routing
from the highway into the station, compared to those buses travelling west.
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
REPORT
Eastbound buses must exit Highway 417 and make a series of turns in mixed traffic before
reaching the upper level platform of St-Laurent Station. After serving and looping the upper
level platform, buses must then make several additional turns in order to make it back to
Highway 417, eastbound.
In contrast, westbound service exits the highway, turns left onto St. Laurent Boulevard, right
into St-Laurent Station, and can then make use of a new direct ramp from the station to
Highway 417, westbound.
Q12. How many new buses are required for the service adjustments during O-Train
Confederation Line construction?
A12. There are 37 new buses now on order for delivery in 2015-16 to be used in connection
with the transit service adjustments that will be required during the entire construction period
of the O-Train Confederation Line. We will receive 12 of these buses in order to provide
service for this phase.
Q13. How will rural partner agencies connect to the transit system?
A13. Connection points for rural partner agency bus services have yet to be confirmed. OC
Transpo is in current contact with our rural partner agencies detailing the upcoming changes
during construction, restrictions they will face at temporary stations, and offering suggestions
for alternative drop-off / pick-up locations for their service.
Q14. How long will the Confederation Line construction service adjustments last for?
What are the next phases for service adjustments?
A14. The Confederation Line is scheduled to open in May 2018. Service adjustments will take
place in sequential phases as other sections of the Transitway are closed. Each section of
Transitway that closes will never reopen for bus operations. The current timelines for
Transitway Closure is as follows:
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June 2015 – Hurdman Station to Blair Station
December 2015 – Merton Street to Empress Street
April 2016 – Laurier Station to Hurdman Station
June 2016 – Tunney's Pasture Station to Merton Street
Similar service adjustment plans will be implemented as these closures take effect. The next
Transit Service Adjustments during Confederation Line Update Report is planned for Transit
Commission in October 2015.
Q15. What is the total cost of these service adjustments (i.e. to run this service until
2018) and where is the funding coming from?
A15. When City Council approved the Ottawa Light Rail Transit project in December 2012, it
established a funding source of $63 million for the continuity of transit service during the
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Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update
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construction of the line. This was to provide for a transitional operating and capital budget to
provide transit service during the construction period.
In November 2013, the approval of the 2014 Transit Services Operating and Capital Budget
included an additional $11 million to fund the early replacement of buses that will be lifeexpired in 2019-2021. This bus purchase provides additional buses for service during the
years of Confederation Line construction.
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